The sun was back out today for our visits to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and the Armani museum. The Starbucks was massive with multiple counters selling sandwiches, pizza, baked goods, alcohol, expensive merchandise, and of course, coffee. They roast coffee beans in the store for their own use and also ship them to Starbucks across Europe. The machinery used in this process is all displayed in the center of the shop in a extravagant fashion. Presentation over practicality is clearly apparent in the layout of the machinery. Pipes carrying coffee beans loop around the shop and the gigantic central cask, which is used to cool the beans after roasting, occasionally opens up its brass walls and spins, displaying the machinery inside of it. The machinery looked like something out of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory but it all served a legitimate purpose. We also got to try some of the coffee after it was prepared in front of us. I usually do not care for black coffee but this tasted very good. The Starbucks was somewhat controversial at first since Italians are huge on getting a cup of coffee from a small café and enjoying it slowly at the café, while Starbucks is a giant chain where most people take their coffee to go. This meant that Starbucks had to be careful in how they presented their store. They definitely did a great job adapting to Italian culture and the location has been extremely successful.

The second visit was to the Armani museum which displays clothes that he has designed over the years. Our tour guide explained the inspiration that went into many of the pieces and how they influenced the fashion culture. Most high end fashion lines give their clothes to celebrity’s to wear for free or even pay them to. Armani does not do this, instead celebrities must pay him for the opportunity to wear his clothes. I generally don’t have much of an eye for high fashion but a lot of his clothing seemed truly remarkable to me.